Game Boy Player

Type

First available

Media

Predecessor

The Game Boy Player (ゲームボーイプレーヤー,Gēmu Bōi Purēyā?) (DOL-017) is a device made by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube which enables Game Boy, Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance cartridges to be played on a television. It uses physical hardware nearly identical to that of a Game Boy Advance, and connects via the high speed parallel port at the bottom of the GameCube that acts as a base with a frontal slot for inserting game cartridges.

The Game Boy Player requires use of the Game Boy Player Start-Up Disc to access the hardware. Several GBA games gain a rumble feature when played this way. The device also supports the ability to use a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable to use a GBA or GBA SP for a controller, as well as a link slot on the hardware for games that use it.

The hardware is about an inch thick and otherwise the same dimensions as the GCN and is available in Indigo, Black, Spice, or Platinum colors in Japan; Black in North America and Europe, and Black and Indigo in Australia.

Contents

Frame: changes the colored border around the game "screen" to one of twenty different patterns. Super Game Boy borders are not supported.

Size: changes the size that the GBA screen takes up on the TV (Normal is about 80% and appears sharper on some sets, while Full enlarges the image to the left and right edges of the TV)

Controller: switches between the two controller mappings

Screen: controls a motion blur effect to reduce potential flicker from programming tricks designed for a GBA screen. Can be set to "sharp" (no blurring), "normal" (some blurring), or "soft" (more blurring).

Timer: set an alarm for one to sixty minutes

Change Cartridge: stops the game so cartridges can be swapped safely, without having to turn the GameCube off (it is best to save game data before doing so)